Faculty, staff, students and Nacogdoches community members are invited to the grand opening ceremony of the new Pineywoods Dining Hall at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 14 at the dining hall’s Wilson Drive entrance. Parking is available in Lot 21 off Wilson Drive.

Lunch will be available to those attending until 1 p.m. In addition, Chartwells, SFA’s food provider, will offer opportunities for a faculty or staff member to win a meal plan to use during fiscal year 2026.

Designed by Kirksey Architecture, the dining hall is the campus’s first mass timber building. The 20,000-square-foot dining facility includes outdoor seating for additional capacity and flexible space for such events as tailgating, culinary expos and instruction.

Along with the traditional dining hall fares, the Pineywoods Dining Hall will feature a rotisserie, tortilla machine, purple hand-tiled pizza oven and a new restaurant, Absurd Bird.

For more information, email April Smith at alsmith@sfasu.edu.

Staff Council will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 8, in McGee Business Building, Room 133, or via Zoom. Dr. Kent Willis, senior vice president for enrollment and student engagement, will discuss division updates and future vision.

Zoom information will be shared via email with staff members ahead of each meeting. View the agenda on the meeting information page.

SFA Gardens' Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series will feature Anna Timmerman, Louisiana State University AgCenter horticulture extension agent, who will present "Growing Citrus Successfully in Containers and Cool Climates" at 7 p.m. July 10 at the Brundrett Conservation Education Building.

Timmerman, who has served with the LSU AgCenter for nine years and was recently appointed as the center's state citrus point of contact, is stationed in New Orleans working with home gardeners, farmers and green industry professionals. Additionally, Timmerman is a Louisiana licensed landscape horticulturist and certified Louisiana nursery and landscape professional.

Attendance is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center or next door at Raguet Elementary. For more information, contact ext. 4129, or sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

The Center for Career and Professional Development will host the Career Champions program to equip faculty and staff with the knowledge to enhance students' professional development, gain knowledge about CCPD programming and help students be successful beyond graduation.

Workshops include Career Champions Introduction, Career Coaching and Exploration, Adding Professional Development to your Classroom/Appointments, and Résumé Guidebook.

To sign up for the workshops, complete the registration form. For more information, contact CCPD at ccpd@sfasu.edu.

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, a nonprofit foundation supporting educational and scientific activities in the field of geology, has named Dr. Julie Bloxson, associate professor of earth sciences and geologic resources, as its 2025 Inspirational Geoscience Educator.

In recognition of exceptional public school science teachers, SFA’s JacksTeach program has launched the JacksTeach Science Teacher Fellowship to support their continued professional growth.

SFA Gardens recently received a grant from the Nacogdoches Junior Forum to support youth educational activities. The grant includes $1,500 to purchase lunch items for the Royal Tea Party on March 21, and a $500 in-kind donation of snacks and supplies for Pineywoods Summer Camps in June 2026. In addition, the Nacogdoches Junior Forum will provide volunteers to help with the events.